


There and Back Again Part 2

by Carisa_Ironfell



Series: There and Back Again [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Battle of Five Armies - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Dorks in love but they're in denial about it, Fili and Kili do schemes, Gen, Good Uncle Thorin, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Not that you can tell yet, Thorin actually appearing in this part, Thorin is awkward, still..., walking holiday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21640000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carisa_Ironfell/pseuds/Carisa_Ironfell
Summary: Thorin's finally here!! Bilbo cooks and thinks about it too much, and there is an emotional, non-pipe conversation.
Relationships: eventual Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins
Series: There and Back Again [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559959
Comments: 5
Kudos: 114





	There and Back Again Part 2

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer! As with Part 1, this story was written by my sister, not me. I'm just posting it on my account because she doesn't have one. Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy!!! :)

At the end of five days, Bilbo was sure he’d completely destroyed his reputation in the whole Shire. He was having too much fun to care, though. He’d shown Kili and Fili around the Shire, finishing in a visit to his family at Tookborough. The Tooks, like the Brandybucks, enjoyed meeting outsiders. The brothers were easy to entertain, and Bilbo liked to think he was giving them a nice holiday from all the work in Erebor.

The three of them made it back to Hobbiton and Bilbo began to get nervous. Thorin was due at any time now and Bilbo had no idea what he wanted to talk about. Fili and Kili seemed to think Thorin was still friendly toward Bilbo, but he wasn’t so sure.

Gaining Thorin’s trust had been hard enough. Getting it back was sure to be harder.

Bilbo shoved those thoughts out of his mind. He would much rather focus on cooking dinner. He hadn’t really thought much about cooking before, except as a way to feed himself, but months on the road had given him a new appreciation for the art of making food.

Kili and Fili, after twenty minutes of watching him with wide eyes, had bustled out of the kitchen and were tuning their violins in the dining room. Bilbo enjoyed listening to them, especially after so long with no one in the hobbit hole but himself.

He’d just finished the last dish when the doorbell rang. Fili swung around the corner.

“It’s for you,” he said, needlessly. “Don’t worry about this, you just answer the door.”

Kili gently shoved Bilbo out of the kitchen. He rolled his eyes fondly and headed for the door.

He’d just gotten there when he realized he was still wearing his apron. Well, there was no helping it. If he went back to put it away, he’d be rudely leaving his guest on the doorstep. The bell rang again, impatiently.

“All right, all right,” he mumbled and yanked the round door open.

Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, gulped and shifted like he wanted to dive out of sight.

“Master Baggins, forgive me for the intrusion. They should have told you I was coming. Um…” he trailed off.

“Thorin, come in. You’re just in time,” Bilbo said, to cover the awkward moment. “You know me, always dragging the door open however. Fili and Kili did tell me, they’re just in the dining room.”

Thorin nodded and stepped inside. “I hope they haven’t caused any trouble,” he said, hanging his cloak on a peg.

“My reputation’s been destroyed throughout the Shire. No one will ever want to be seen near me again,” Bilbo said and grinned as Thorin turned pale. “It’s been the best week I’ve had for ages. Through here.”

He led Thorin to the dining room, even though he should know perfectly well where it was and left him to receive his nephews’ exuberant greetings while he hung up his apron.

Dinner wasn’t quite as wild as the party with the full Company, but Bilbo didn’t mind that. He liked having people visit, but thirteen dwarves all at once were thoroughly overwhelming. Thorin had a steadying influence on Kili and Fili, but they still engaged in enough antics to make Bilbo’s sides hurt from laughing.

After an enjoyable evening of music, Thorin sent his nephews to bed. Bilbo shifted a little in his armchair, but he had to get this conversation out of way at some point.

“Bilbo, there are certain things that we must speak of,” Thorin began, standing and staring into the fire.

“Yes, I suppose there are,” Bilbo agree. He stared at his toes for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Thorin, I’m sorry-”

“I owe you an apology-”

Both of them cut off as the other began speaking and Bilbo flushed.

“Go ahead, Thorin.”

The dwarf king heaved a sigh. “I owe you an apology, Bilbo. There can be no excuse for the way I treated you. Dragon-sickness, madness from the long road, lingering effects of the foul spider poison, none of it answers how I could have so misused a friend. I am truly sorry for everything I said and did to you.”

“Thorin, you weren’t well. I can easily forgive hasty words spoken in the heat of anger,” Bilbo said and smiled. “But I’m sorry as well. My trick with the Arkenstone was beyond the bounds of friendship. I don’t know what came over me.”

Thorin shook his head. “The Arkenstone matters not. I raised a tomb for my father and grandfather and buried it with them. I do not wish for it to cause more strife for my people.”

Bilbo nodded and wished for his pipe. Still, this wasn’t a conversation to be had over pipes.

“The Shire is your home, I understand that,” Thorin said, turning from the fire to face Bilbo. “I could never ask you to abandon this place. But, would you, perhaps, consider visiting Erebor? The whole winter after the battle, I wished you were at my side. There were so many times I wished for plain Hobbit sense. And I wish you could see everything we’ve done.”

A smile touched Thorin’s face, the one that rarely came to him because of the hardships he’d been through. Bilbo had lived through the quest, so he knew how hard that smile came to Thorin. It would have taken a hobbit of sterner stuff to resist it.

“Of course I will visit,” he said instantly. “To tell the truth, I’m not sure I fully belong in the Shire anymore. This place will always be my home, but the people here don’t understand me. I’ve changed. I’d like to see the Mountain again and visit with our friends.”

“They will be glad to see you,” Thorin said, finally lowering himself into an armchair. “Balin, particularly. He would also be glad of your advice on more than a few matters.”

Bilbo nodded. “It’s decided, then. I will have a chance to properly pack?” he added, remembering how he had dashed out his front door without even a pocket-handkerchief. He’d done without, but this wasn’t a dangerous quest.

“Of course. I found a place to stable the ponies not far from here,” Thorin said.

A tension between them eased, although Bilbo hadn’t been aware of it before. Somehow, his agreement had relaxed Thorin to a surprising degree. They chatted about Laketown and the relations between Men and Dwarves until the fire burned down. Thorin finally said good-night and went to add his snores to the other two’s.

It wasn’t until Bilbo went to bed that he remembered no snoring had interrupted when he’d agreed to go back to Erebor…


End file.
